Pulp decoy



ug. 15, 1950 A. H. RlscH 2,518,721

PULP DEcoY Filed May 1o, 1947 INVENTOR. Bay 62M fida/ @Zw/@V Patented Aug. 15, 1950 PULP Dacor Arthur H. Risch, Milwaukee, Wis., assigner to Pulp Reproduction Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application May lil, 1947, Serial No. 747,165

Y 2 Claims.

1 The present invention relates generally to improvements in the art of producing hunters decoys, and relates more particularly to improvements in the construction'and use of molded fibrous pulp decoys and the like.

A primary object of myrpresent invention is to provide an improved molded hunters decoy which is simple and extremely durable and come pact in construction, and which may moreover be produced in a simple manner of relatively fragile, light and inexpensive material such as brous pulp.

Life-like imitation decoys have, for many years, been used by hunters and the like to lure ducks,

' geese and other gameto pre-selected localities.l

Such decoys are naturally subjected to considerable abuse and are generally handled in an exceedingly Vrough manner by the hunter. For transportation to and from the selected hunting vicinity, several decoys are ordinarily indiscrim-` inately thrown into a bag, and the bag is then carried over the hunters shoulder and/or tossed roughly into an automobile, boat or the like.

Upon arrival at the place of intended use, the

decoys are customarily unloaded in a none too4 gent-le manner and are tossed or otherwise placed in the water. During actual shooting of game e lured to the selected locality by the decoys, it

vis not at all uncommon for shotgun ypellets or the like to hit the decoys with considerable force,H

often penetrating the decoy bodies. Furthermore, since the decoys are frequently stored in basements and garages, they quite naturally rei ceive considerable abuse evenduring closed seasons on hunting, particularly when used by children as playthings.

In view of the rough treatment and abuse usually accorded to hunters decoys, it was customary practice until a relatively few yearsV ago to produce such imitation decoys of wood and other more or less durable materials, but these wood and like decoys are necessarily costly due to the time-consuming care which must be ex-l ercised in carving or otherwise forming each decoy to obtain perfect balance as well as to produce a realistic figure. Consequently, in more recent years, decoys molded or otherwise formed of relatively light and inexpensive materials such vvas paper pulp and which may be readily'provduced in large `quantities andat lowY cost `,have

' eilcient service.

cured to the bottom thereof for maintaining the decoy in upright position on the water; and although considerable exploitation and development work by persons skilled in the art has enabled manufacturers'to produce molded pulp decoys which have proven highly satisfactory Vvand acceptable in actual use and which have rendered reasonable service, these pulp decoysv have nevertheless been found undesirably susceptible l'to breakage because of the extremely rough abuse to which the relatively thin and fragile shells are subjected. It has been found, however, that the breakage in most cases occurs at projecting parts oi the decoy body and particularly at the bill or beak thereof.

It is therefore a more specific object of my present invention to provide an improved lifelike imitation decoy of molded pulp'in which the disadvantages attendant prior molded decoys are` obviated and wherein the number of prouiections subject to breakage is minimized.

Another specic object of this invention is to provide an improved hunters decoy which may be readily produced of relatively fragile material in large quantities by molding or the like, and which is moreoverV adapted to effectively withstand considerable abuse and hard usage. Another specific object of the invention is to provide an improved molded fibrous pulp decoy which is highly attractive and life-like in appearance, and which is composed of a minimum number of parts.

Still another specic object of my present in- 'ventionis to provide an improved light-weight hollow decoy which may be readily formed primarily of inexpensive paper pulp or the like with the aid of standard pulp molding equipment at low cost, and which is nevertheless exceptionally strong and durable and adapted for long and A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved hunters decoy .comprising a hcliow body ci relatively fragile material molded to simulate a bird, the decoy body being formed with the bill thereof integral with the breast portion.

These and other specic objects and advantages of the present invention will be' apparent from the following detailed description.

Aclear conception of the features constituting my present invention, and of the mode of constructing decoys embodying the improvement, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this specication, wherein like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one of my improved decoys, the invention being shown as ernbodied in a typical swimming duck type of hunters decoy; and

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal vertical section through the decoy.

While the invention has been shown and described;ashngt-advantageously.applicable tora typical= aquatic duck *decoy of molded pulp,:-it,;is not my desire or intent to thereby unnecessarily restrict or limit the scope or utility of the improvement, since the invention is obviouslyrgenerally applicable to various types of decoysoth'er than duck decoys, and the ahollowbodies may be molded or otherwise formedioff-.variouspther le suitable materials. Certain subject matter shown and described herein is disclosedLand-,claimed in the co-pending patent of Arthur H. -Risc'h, Patent No. 2,494,631, issued January 17, 21950; for Pulp Decoy, and therefore forms no part of the present invention.

E Referring to the drawing the ftypical. duck de- Y.fooy shown therein 'ras embodying t the invention .comprises, in ggeneral, a hollow-molded shellof relativelyrfragile-,andlightl` material such asi paper Vpulp :forming vfa body .5 having `an `opening `6 ig-through dwhich-the pulp stockf maybe .f ed A to Athe =n1oldrandl through which access imay be obtained for `ico'ating fthe :shell Hinterior with asphalt `@or another ffadhesiveaand -waterproof `material 1, sthe mpening Gbeingsshowniherem-:as-formed in vthe snbstantiallynat basee8; andra suitable closure for :thesopeningf :shown 1 herein ras comprising ra :'fat fplafte :or board -9 'impregnated and -coated with a material such as tar or pitchand-:snugly rcorinedfwithin the opening; aEheat-sealed .cloth orgmetallic ffoil @sheet .l-D adhesively -fsecured :to :eandrcovering the-exposed surfacey of -the board7 9 fand =:rextending :beyond the @edges thereof fand f a ./reiativelythick layer-tof asphalt or the flike Il spreadfover zthe f cloth Ml :to :substantially :ll the recess flf2 n surrounding -lthe .opening ,5 :and f.eiectiveiyiclose'a andseal thefopening.

` EIhe :decoy @body f5 may be molded of :fibrous `rpulp in Aal:sirzfglerfsiiripleoperation with the `Vwellzknownftypie 'aoffsuotion smolding machine and iis, .offcourse, "formed @with -a head 13, --bill :t4 Vand breastfportion fk5. In :accordance with myiinven- "vtionhowever,tlreubillfM, instead ofbeing formed iremotefrnzthe A:breastportion'el 5 -in accordance With-the usual 1fpractiee, -is -formed integral v:with ftheabreast :for the 'majorportion fof the Viength rofthezbill il Lasindicated at' l-.S thereby ,substanitiallyeeliminatingprojecting-'parts which areisusrceptibleitobrealcage.

:':By 'thus Aconstructing :the :molded rrpulp -decoy with fthe :bill ild integral fwith the breast I5 lrthrough =r^the`majoriportion -of itslength as at I6, the usually fragile bill or beak 24.4 vis-.caused toproject:'only'fat'ztheEvery-tip thereof, if at all, 'aand :is 'thus reinforced against break-age. YFurlthermore,'thefneckportion of the'body shell :5.-is enlarged considerablyfin widthby suchzconstrucrtion: andiinadditionftorbeing.strengthened thereby, the interior of the head and neck arerenidered morefaccessiblezfonapplication ofthe ad- .hesive waterproof acoating A'l Y.and :inaccessible corners .-or .cavities .arerminimized .Obviously the decoy may .-be .nally completed by-waterfproongfand painting-of lthe ^body exterior.

VAErom the foregoing.detaileddescription;` itl will 4 be apparent that the present invention provides an improved hunters decoy which maybe readily constructed of relatively fragile and inexpensive material in a simple manner, and which is nevertheless extremely durable and compact in construction, By the present construction, life-like hunters decoys may be readily produced of light- -weight:molded:pulp ortheflikeand such decoys .are adaptedtowithstand considerable. abuse and hard usage and to render long and eflicient serv- .ice despite the rather fragile nature of the material from which they are constructed. These 'improved decoys may obviously be produced by :molding in flarge v.quantities and at extremely low-most; randras hereinabove set forth, the forimation'zo'fthebody with the lower portion of the ubill u or beakrresting directly upon and formed integral 'withthebreast through the major porrxtionfiof its length substantially eliminates projecting portions and reinforces the bill as well as .the headandineck iportions Yof .the decoy against ...breakage .and .,:additionally v.permits enlargement ,offthe .neck interiorand eliminates internal .cavi- .tiesso as'tdinsuremoreready.access for ,easejn thoroughly interiorlycoatingthe shell. Stand- -fard..pulp. molding. equipment may be A,ut'ilize'dfor vproducing-the improved decoys, and 4decoys embodying the inventionare. strong, .durable,`-light, .iandpractical Y It should 'be .understood vthatit isnotdesired or..intended .to1imit this .invention Ato (the i exact details of construction or to the precise mode-of use `or Mapplication herein shown .and described, V-iorvarious,.modifications within thescope of the appended .claims may Voccur .to personsskilledjin the-.art `to \which-.ths .invention pertains.

f1. A- hunterls-decoy .,comprising, Aa `hollowl body `yof relatively rfragileunaterial molded Yto Ifiorrrra 40 shell.of.substantiallyuniform thickness through- .out andhavingan access opening therein,.said shell lbeingformed tosimulate.a bird having a fbill :and .a breast .,portion, and said -bill 'being formed integraliwithsaid' breast.. portion vthrough the-major lengthof .the .bill whereby thebill is Vreinforced A.against .breakage .and the internal .neck @portion Yextends Wforwardly to `a ,position :in ffrontof. a. portion. of Vsaidbill.

.-2. huntersdecoy comprising, ahollowibody sof-fibrous-pulpmolded toforinashell of substan- .tially ,uniform -thickness `throughout and having vianaccess opening.therein,.said shell being formed :to simulateabird having a .billanda breastpor- ,.tion, `and Asaid `billioeing ,formed Aintegral with :said ,breast portion .through ,the major. length of the bill whereby the bill 'is'ireinforced Aagainst vbreakage and the hollow internal neckjportion .extends forwardly Lto a.;poin.t lying in a vertical -p1ane..positione`d ,between .the ends of'thebill.

ARTHUR H. RISCH.

"REFERENCES CITED The fol-lowing .references are .of .record in .the

,-le vof .this :patent:

'iUNITED TSTATES :PATENTS Number Name r"Date '11326073055 Cooper Nov. l`6,'1-926 `i2",247j450 Olsen 'July 1, 1'941 Risch TNov. 16,1'948 

